‘Dereliction of duty’ not to take up US St Patrick’s Day trip – Lyons

Stormont Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has said it would be a “dereliction of duty” not to take part in the annual trip to the US for St Patrick’s Day.

While uncertainty remains over whether First Minister Michelle O’Neill will travel to Washington DC, Mr Lyons said he looks forward to going to promote Northern Ireland on the traditional visit.

He said it was “important to engage” and to “keep putting Northern Ireland on the map”.

On Friday in the Republic of Ireland, Taoiseach Micheal Martin confirmed he would visit the White House for the Irish premier’s annual bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Mr Martin had faced calls to drop the trip last year, as Mr Trump began his second term as president, over the US administration’s approach to Gaza.

Those calls have been amplified in the wake of the US’s rescinded threat to take over Greenland, and Mr Trump’s anti-immigration crackdown in the city of Minneapolis and elsewhere in the US.

Last week Ms O’Neill said she would take “international factors” into account when deciding whether to attend.

She did not attend last year in protest over Gaza, and she said the situation has since “got even worse”.

However deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said it is “more important than ever” to engage with the US.

On Monday, her DUP party colleague and Communities Minister Mr Lyons told the Press Association that he would be travelling to Washington DC to attend a number of events.

“I’m delighted to announce that we will also be holding our own event in Washington DC to celebrate those links between Northern Ireland and the United States,” he said.

“Really pleased that we have got considerable interest from the business world and from politics, who want to hear more about this, and want to hear more about Ulster’s role in particular in the foundation of the United States.

“I’m going because I think it’s important to engage, I think it’s important to talk with those who are involved in business, in politics, in the US administration and in Congress because we need to keep putting Northern Ireland on the map.

“We know how important it is for investment and for tourism, and I think it would be a dereliction of duty if we were not there doing our job on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland.”

Mr Lyons also went to Washington DC last year, and met Mr Trump.

“We were able to talk about areas under my responsibility such as golf, he was certainly very knowledgeable about The Open coming to Portrush – he was able to tell me what was happening on the course in terms of the 18th hole so that was very interesting that he knew about that,” he said.

“I’ll take the opportunity to meet with anybody, be it the president or anybody else, to tell them about who we are, where we come from and where we are going, to tell them about what happened in the past in terms of people from Ulster who did so much for the foundation of the United States, and everything else that we’re currently doing today.

“I love Northern Ireland, I’m passionate about Northern Ireland, I want to promote Northern Ireland, and I will use every opportunity to do that, and I look forward to doing that in March with whoever I can.”